Understanding Regression Analysis: An Introductory Guide(Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences)

Table of Contents:
Series Editor’s Introduction Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. Linear Regression Introduction Hypothesized Relationships A Numerical Example Estimating a Linear Relationship Least Squares Regression Examples The Linear Correlation Coefficient The Coefficient of Determination Regression and Correlation Summary 2. Multiple Linear Regression Introduction Estimating Regression Coefficients Standardized Coefficients Associated Statistics Examples Summary 3. Hypothesis Testing Introduction Concepts Underlying Hypothesis Testing The Standard Error of the Regression Coefficient The Student’s t Distribution Left-Tail Tests Two-Tail Tests Confidence Intervals F Statistic What Tests of Significance Can and Cannot Do Summary 4. Extensions to the Multiple Regression Model Introduction Types of Data Dummy Variables Interaction Variables Transformations Prediction Examples Summary 5. Problems and Issues Associated With Regression Introduction Specification of the Model Variables Used in Regression Equations and Measurement of Variables Violations of Assumptions Regarding Residual Errors Additional Topics Conclusions Appendix A: Derivation of a and b Appendix B: Critical Values for Student’s t Distribution Appendix C: Regression Output From SAS, Stata, SPSS, R, and EXCEL Appendix D: Suggested Textbooks References Index

About the Author :
Dr. Larry Schroeder, Professor of Public Administration Maxwell Professor of Teaching Excellence, and Senior Research Associate in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University is a public finance economist with primary interest in state and local public finance and financial management. He has conducted research on a variety of state and local government fiscal issues both in the U.S. and abroad. Much of his current research is directed at public finance issues arising in developing and transition economies. He is particularly interested in problems associated with financing the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure in these environments as well as the broader issues of decentralization, intergovernmental fiscal relations, and the effects of institutional arrangements on the provision of public services. He is the co-author of several books and has written a large number of articles addressing these subjects. Professor Schroeder has consulted with and led policy research projects sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund in numerous countries, especially in South and Southeast Asia, but also in Africa and Eastern Europe. In 1998-99 he was a Visiting Professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang Malaysia and was a Visiting Research Fellow at the National College of Public Administration and Governance at the University of the Philippines (Diliman Campus) in Quezon City, Philippines in 2005-06. Professor Schroeder earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1971. During the early 1970s he was on the economics faculty at Georgia State University. In 1977 he joined the Departments of Public Administration and Economics at the Maxwell School, Syracuse University and served here until 1994 when he was a Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. He rejoined The Maxwell School faculty in 1998. Dr. Sjoquist is a specialist in the field of public finance, particularly state and local public finance, and has an extensive research interests in urban economics, especially local economic development and central city poverty, and education policy. Stephan′s research interests focus on the careers of scientists and engineers and the process by which knowledge moves across institutional boundaries in the economy. Stephan currently serves on the National Research Council Board on Higher Education and Workforce. She served on the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, National Institutes of Health, 2005-2009 and served on the Advisory Committee of the Social, Behavioral, and Economics Program, National Science Foundation, 2001-2008. She was a member of the European Commission High-Level Expert Group that authored the report "Frontier Research: The European Challenge." She has served on a number of National Research Council committees including the committee on Dimensions, Causes, and Implications of Recent Trends in the Careers of Life Scientists, Committee on Methods of Forecasting Demand and Supply of Doctoral Scientists and Engineers, and the Committee on Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the United States. Her research has been supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellow Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Stephan graduated from Grinnell College (Phi Beta Kappa) with a B.A. in Economics and earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan. She has been a visiting scholar at Katholeike Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, spring 2005, a Wertheim Fellow, Harvard University, February 2007, and an ICER fellow, Turin, Italy, fall 2009, spring 2011, and fall 2011. She has also been a visiting scholar at the Department of Economics, Cognetti de Martiis, University of Torino, spring 2011 and fall 2011. Stephan is a research associate, National Bureau of Economic Research. Stephan has published numerous articles in journals such as The American Economic Review, Science, The Journal of Economic Literature, Economic Inquiry, The International Economic Review and Social Studies of Science. She co-wrote, with Sharon Levin, Striking the Mother Lode in Science (Oxford University Press, 1992).

Review :
"This is an excellent update; a clear and accessible introduction to a complex, yet very important, statistical method: regression analysis. The book can serve as a perfect supplement or stand-alone book in introductory social statistics courses." "Understanding Regression Analysis provides students at all levels a foundational understanding of multiple linear regression analysis through intuitive explanations and interdisciplinary examples aimed at elucidating concepts, approaches, and interpretations." "This monograph provides a clear and concise introduction to regression analysis concepts and procedures, with a problem-solving approach toward addressing common maladies of regression modeling." "The authors do a top-notch job of competently presenting a plethora of topics regarding regression analysis."